MP3 Reviews

When our 5-disk CD player finally conked out, we replaced it with this slick DVD/CD player. As a DVD player it works just fine, but I doubt most people are looking to shuffle between 5 DVDs. Like us, most people are looking for it to do double duty as the home's primary CD player as well. If so, you might be disappointed. Two big problems:

(1) It is too slow in scanning CDs and responding to commands. If you just want to play a CD, you'll hate waiting around for it to be ready to accept your next instruction.

(2) The random shuffle mode is poorly designed. If you just hit the "random" button, it will play the tracks on one CD in random order and then stop. Huh? If you are able to get it into the random2 setting, it plays the tracks on the first CD randomly and then the tracks on the next CD randomly. Huh Huh? If you're like me, you want the random function to play the tracks on all CDs in the machine randomly. This DVD player can do that, but it's very hard to get the setting correctly because it involves hitting the random button three times. Now that doesn't sound difficult, but it has to register three hits. That means that you have to do it slow enough that the slow machine registers the hits, but fast enough that it doesn't think you're done -- all this without any indication from the machine of how many hits it has registered. Hint: if you turn your TV on in DVD mode, it will actually tell you which random setting you are on. That's convenient -- NOT.

I researched MANY DVD players, and after much deliberation, I decided to give the Toshiba SD-2715 a try.

I had it connected to my TV and up and running in just a few mintues. The picture and audio quality were great. I had never used a "zoom" mode DVD player before, and this feature was a nice surprise that might come in handy once in a while. You can pause the movie and then zoom in to check the monogram on a shirt button, or just let the movie play while you zoom in and pan around the screen with the navigation arrows. Very cool.

The first negative thing I noticed was how SLOW this player is to identify and load a disc. It literally takes 20 seconds to figure out what kind of disc it's reading and to start playing. I tried VCD's and MP3 CD's created with my CD-RW drive on my computer, and a variety of different DVD's. So far, it has played EVERYTHING I've thrown at it... but again, the load speed is excruciatingly ssslllloooowwwww.

The only other negative is that it won't play MP3 files in random order. Who wants to listen to an MP3 CD with 250 songs on it in the SAME ORDER EVERY TIME? I'm glad it plays MP3's at all, of course, but I don't know how often I'll use this feature when there is no way to randomize the playlist.

Post purchase, I've done some research online... and so far I've only found ONE other DVD player that will actually play MP3's randomly (APEX 1500). I'm sure there are others, but I doubt that they will have all of the other positive features of this player. It's a good buy.

Having great experiences with a Toshiba SD2700 DVD player, I thought the SD2715 would make a great secondary unit. Within a day, it became my primary DVD player, and the 2700 was off to the basement TV.

It has shown massive stuttering on "Black Hawk Down" - hoping it is a bad rental copy. Plays "The Matrix" with no problems - usually a litmus test for cheap decoders in cheap players. Hopefully an isolated event. I'll amend the review with an update.

Plays VCDs recorded on the cheapest media known to man. Allows for Disc Exchange while others are playing - a nice feature when you're looking for that rental DVD while watching another movie. Gives off a nice picture. Tip: turn on the 3D Audio function for pronounced rear channel effects off a 5.1 disc - sounds great.

Great player for the price. It does take 10 seconds to warm up, but it's a nice, reliable player.

Monster makes good cables and often has products other people don't have, but this isn't the case here. This is a very common cable available in your choice of lengths from stereo and electronic stores. I have an iPod and a Bose home theater system and get perfect sound from the 6-foot, $6 version from Radio Shack. All you need is a stereo mini-plug on one end (plugs into the top of the iPod) and RCA red and white stereo jacks on the other (plug into the "input" jacks on your stereo).

If you intend on hooking your ipod up to your home stereo, go get the cheap $5.99 cable at radio shack. If you intend on taking your ipod with you while you're in your car, get this cable. Monster uses twisted pair wiring for a reason, to reduce noise, the kind of noise you might find in a car with an expensive system. I installed this cable on the head unit in my truck, the contacts are indeed tight, but I know for sure that they won't come unplugged while i'm driving.

7' is pretty long, it could be shorter. I only need a good 4' from the back of the head unit, down around and up to the front of the head unit where the ipod is mounted. And it is a bit expensive, but I think its worth it for this purpose alone. I don't see it as paying for hype, i see it as paying for a quality product that will probably outlast the ipod itself by years and years.

This is for owners' of Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Speakers, including the New Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 Speakers.
I assume of course you already own the Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier for these speakers.
The Price has dropped from $170.00 for the Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier,
to a much lower price of $100.00 for the Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier,
as of the date December 13, 2003.
Purchase three (3) of the Monster Cable iCable for iPod, for each set of the Klipsch Speakers and the matching Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier.
Your ears will not have to contend with,
the three (3) poor quality Klipsch Y-Adapters which are supplied with your Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier,
and the three (3) poor quality Klipsch cables which are supplied with your Klipsch ProMedia Speakers.
A total of six (6), *** POOR *** Klipsch Cables.
The three cables go / route from the back of the Klipsch ProMedia Powered Subwoofer to the back of the Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier.
The Monster Cable iCable for iPod's only limitation is the short seven (7) foot length.
You must place the Klipsch ProMedia Powered Subwoofer within seven (7) feet of the Klipsch DD-5.1 Digital Decoder PreAmplifier.
Sure the cost is a very expensive $90.00 for three of these Monster Cable iCable for iPod,
but once purchased and hooked up,
you know the sound signal is being transmitted via a quality single cable,
rather than having the sound signal being transmitted via a cheap cable with an additional cheap Y-adapter added / joined.
!!! NO MORE two seperate cheap cables, &
!!! NO MORE two seperate cheap cables which MAY disconnect from each other.
One single cable is always better than two,
PLUS
QUALITY is what you are paying for.
NOTE: Monster Cable iCable for iPod has a 1/8" Mini Jack on one end which is the correct size required for use by the Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 speakers and Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 speakers.

Just wanting to add that, differently from what you read in the specs, the product is fully compatible with Macintosh.

Feel free to contact manufacturer's support service...for further details.

Well, I read some of the reviews before I bought this, so I wasn't totally sure that it'd be any good. However its great. Contrary to some people's experiences I have had no problems connecting it to my PC through a USB hub. The software installed seamlessly (on XP). At a sample rate of 96KHz for MP3s I get around 2 CDs onto it at once and they sound great. It plays fine in the car cassette player (which is what it was intended for). You can skip tracks backwards and forwards using RW and FF controls on the cassette player. It goes into power standby mode if you leave it switched on when you leave the car. It takes next to no time to download tracks. And you can use it as a standalone MP3 player.

Only two grumbles:

1. It would be nice if it came off standby as soon as the spindles started turning in the cassette player (it doesn't, you have ot take it out and press the play button once).

2. Don't try and upgrade the software that comes with it. I spent 3 frustrating hours trying to sort the mess out before I used the XP 'revert to previous state' feature (boy, am I glad I upgraded to XP).

All in all, a neat, easy to use product that delivers on its promises.

I have now been using my DUO-64 every day for over a year. Every day I download my favorite National Public Radio shows from audible.com and listen to them while I commute.

The DUO works great. It has changed my commute from an hour of mind numbing boordom to an hour of learning. It is much better than flipping through the radio stations trying to avoid commercials and obsolete traffic reports.

I have a lot of gadgets that I bought thinking they would be cool but mostly sit on the shelf unused. This is not one of them. I use this more than any other electronic device that I have ever owned. I consider it up there with the cell phone in utility.

This is an outstanding product that I highly recommend to anyone.

Everythihng they say on here is true but I can handle the OK sound quality and volume, because I bout extra memory and everything but let me WARN YOU! Do NOT under any circumstances upgrade your MUSICMATCH software. The website says MUSICMATCH doesn't even support your JAMP3 player, and I've been listening to the same 11 songs for over 3 years. This unit was given to me as a gift, but it was $100 and I hate that my aunt spent that much money for a deficient product. :(

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this MP3 player on clearance at [local store] the other night for [little money]. I was most impressed that it's memory is expandable. Fortunately I hadn't read some of the other reviews here or I might not have purchased it.

First I must tell you that I am afflicted with ETF(Electronic Trinket Fever), so it was hard to justify another MP3 player. This is number three. I told my wife I bought this one because I am a firefighter and I paid too much for the others to drag them around with me at work. Sounded good.

I'm running Windows 2000; when I plugged the standard USB cable into my computer, I thought I'd have to use the CD to get a driver. Windows recognized it immediately, the add new device wizard did it's thing for about 30 seconds and the unit showed up in Windows Explorer as a removable drive. I didn't have to do a thing. I dragged 16MBs of MP3s from one of my directories onto the new drive and about a minute later I was playing music.

The first thing I noticed before I hit the play button was a soft hiss. When the music started playing the hiss became almost imperceptible.

I'm not really sure why some people have had so much difficulty with this unit. I'm using two alkaline batteries from a [local store] and they've been going strong at 80% volume for at least three hours now with 3/4 left still showing on the built in meter. I'm using 128kbs files instead of the 32kbs files recommended in the manual; they probably take less power to decode. I don't like ear bud headphones, so I'm using a standard set from a portable CD Player. The volume is plenty loud for me.

Some people are saying that it takes a long time to load the memory; I'm going to guess they are ripping from CD using the included software instead of dragging MP3s into the unit using Windows Explorer. Either that or there is a problem with their system setup. For me it loaded in less than a minute; which MB for MB is about what you'd expect from a USB1 device.

Don't use the included software and drivers if you don't have to. When you see the unit as a removable drive in Windows Explorer, make a copy of the .bin file you find in case you accidentally erase it later. The unit won't function without that .bin file.

In conclusion:
The unit is slightly larger than I expected. There is a slight hiss. The play/stop button sticks out a little so when you put it in your pocket it sometimes starts and stops when you don't intend for it to. I don't know about the customer support, but I believe it's probably bad... How many ... off brand Chinese devices have you bought lately that had good customer support? Buy it from a place with a good return policy in case you have problems.

Overall I like the unit a lot. It's [inexpensive], tough, expandable, and despite a slight hiss the sound quality is very good; it even has several equalization settings.

I Purchaced My Player About A Year And A Half Ago,Besides It Useing Up Batteries Fast It Works Great. I Have Windows XP And It Sees IT As A Removeable Drive When I Plug it In. It Is A Good Player If You Can Get It For Under $20.(I Spotted Them On Ebay
Three For Fifteen Dollars Before.)

I had a few hiccups trying to get the Creative Wireless Music to operate consistently with my wireless network. In the end, I adjusted my network to accomodate the Sound Blaster. My network was WEP encrypted and configuring the SB to fit in, it would often not communicate with the wireless router, a D-link DI-624 502.11g router. My laptop connection which was previously stable now started to flake out. I am not sure what the interactions were but after playing with a lot of settings, the whole network just worked a lot better without the WEP encryption. To protect my home network somewhat, I disabled SSID broadcast and also enabled MAC address filtering to allow only my wireless devices access to the network and no other. The SB Wireless Music receiver remote has the MAC address in the "info" section. All seems to work flawlessly. I should add though that I don't live in an urban setting where my wireless network needs pretty stiff protection.

My large MP3 collection doesn't have the best ID3 tags. This is really a big problem as it's hard to navigate without proper tags. I'm currently in the process of using Ultra Tag Editor to get my collection in order. I think the navigation on the SB Wireless Music is pretty great with a lot of different options to find just what you want.

Firmware 5/04, works great. The remote is a lot more responsive. What I don't like is that sometimes the remote freezes or doesn't do anything and their is no error message. In some cases, the location of my Mp3's changed or file names changed but it would be nice to know why the device is freezing up.

Sound is excellent. I use the optical SPDIF output to my digital decoder preamp.

I have been waiting for a product like this for quite some time. The SB has some quirks but is nonetheless more or less what the doctor ordered. Best of all, I got it for $160 at a major online retailer.

Of the devices in this category, this one certainly looks the best! It has a sleek modern look, which goes along with its function. But, as in everything else in life, that physical beauty is only skin deep. The beauty in this device is in what it does!

I was not disappointed that it does dot play streaming audio from the internet, or my movies from my computer. Being in the Army and being faced with lengthy deployments to miserable places, I purchased a Creative Nomad Zen Xtra 40GB MP3 player so I could take all of my CD's with me to enjoy. And then I came across this bad daddy- what an awesome concept. A wireless receiver that will hook into my wireless network and play all of the MP3's in my computer! So I bought it.

Fortunately for me, it has not performed as the numerous reviews state. It has been fantastic. (1) Getting setup. Easy, but could have been easier. I had to manually configure the device to connect to my 802.11g WEP enabled network. Automatic would have been slick, but this also gave me the chance to be hands on, and learn about the wireless network which was also new to the house with this device. (2) Connectivity. No problems here. I live in a modern German apartment building- constructed of steel and concrete. There are two walls and a kitchen between the receiver and the network hub, and it has never lost its connection. Playback has been flawless. (3) Function. Hmm. Here's where it starts to lose a little ground. Why does it take 3-5 seconds to finds the next song when advancing the playlist with the remote? The manufacturer could probably improve this performance with a firmware update. I am not a programmer, but that seems to fix other MP3 products! But, the sound through my stereo is awesome, true to life and very dynamic. And, I have yet to suffer any electronic "glitches" during playback. (4) Features. I don't care that it doesn't play my pictures through the TV or streaming internet audio. I didn't buy it for that. It does what I bought it for and does it well. (5) Network connection. Yes this device is 802.11b and will slow down a "g" network. But Creative thoughtfully has given it an autooff feature, when you dont use it, it turns off and drops out of the network, ensuring that you will maintain the highest rates of through put for data at the other stations. And who cares if it is "b," when I am listening to music I am not surfing the net or playing networked games.

I would definitely recommend this product. But, be prepared to manually "connect" the device to your network and for long lags between songs when manually advancing the playlists. Other than that, enjoy this beautiful new addition your home A/V system!

I felt a responsibility to share my experience with this unit since it differs considerably from other reviews. Many have complained of lag when calling up long play lists or when dealing with a large number of MP3 files. Apparently Creative Labs has been listening.

I got one today, and I couldn't be happier. No doubt this is due to the new firmware I downloaded from the product site. I have over 6000 MP3s, and I can browse and call them up without a hitch. There is a 2-3 second gap of silence after pressing play while the first file buffers, but it's no big deal.

I am a computer geek, and some network savvy is required to configure the unit if you're using WEP encryption. If your network is not encrypted, it's fairly plug-and-play, save for the firmware download which is straight forward.

Regarding the range of the unit, my 802.11b router is 3 floors above the Wireless Music receiver and I haven't heard a single dropped bit all night. I am also controlling the unit 1 floor above the receiver, so the RF remote is pulling its weight.

If you've been on the fence about this due to the lag issues, fear not. Download the firmware, and you'll be in heaven. This is truly great technology, and the sound quality is superb. For me, it was a crucial link in my home audio chain that I didn't even know was missing.

I loved the unit! The small DUAL functioning buttons make it a little difficult to work at times but that's a price I'm willing to pay a unit so small. I throw it in my gym bag and don't have to worry about bringing an extra set of batteries since it only uses 2 AAAs. Even hooking it up in the car with a cassette adaptor was a wonderful experience and its easy to lock in the glove box. I give the unit only 2 stars because I had to purchase a separate MMC device since I-Jam never responded to my calls or e-mails. I had problems with the system recognizing the MMC device in my parallel port. The device was recognized only once before crashing my system. I then tried to uninstall the software and had only error messages returned. After dealing with Microsoft and running diagnostic programs, I learned that the problem was with the MMC device itself. If you don't mind small buttons, then this unit is for you. I love mine and think it is a great little unit. If you have any problems though, just return it where you purchased because my experience has taught me that I-Jam will not be of any help.

Does anyone have an archive of the firmware updater for this product?

I saw this item at this years Comdex event in Las Vegas. The size and features of the I-Jam unit are Awesome, after sampling the audio (cd quality +), and seeing, and feeling how small, and light, yet rugged it is, I knew I had to own one..

Having the luxury to create my own play list from dragging and dropping the mp3 files from my desktop to the memory card is a great feature. I would agree a 32mb card would be nicer than two 16 mb cards, but the 16 mb cards will hold 4 cd quality mp3 files, or 6-8 downloads off the net.

I think this unit is by far the best MP3 player in the sub $200 range, it comes will the software and interface device that lets you connect to your pc and download to the memory card the mp3 files you want to listen to... Mine uses the printer port, I think soon they will releasing a USB model.

i was happy to have this discman. but lately it is giving me some problems. whenever i try to change the title or new song it goes back to the 1st song and i cant play the song i want to but i have to start listening to song from the 1st one.any one to solve my problem.

I can use the CDs i burned before I purchased this Player. PHILIPS has a winner here especially at this ... Price. Now I can enjoy my whole Music collect when I am traveling and all on few CDs. Although i have not tried it, this unit will also use CD-RWs which means I can delete and add music as I like to my CDs. And the options are many, shuffle, repeat, all in any combination. You can't go wrong with this one as a New Toy or as a Gift.

sound quality is incredible this is philips....if i compare price and sound quality the result is perfect.

D-Link should stick to networking products...the moment i put batteries on this mp3 player, i knew something was really wrong with it...sound quality was horrible, battery life was horrible, skipped all the time, even when i pressed any button, it would reset itself all the time...i give it 1 star because i can't give it any less...DO NOT BUY THIS!!!...i returend it the next day and bought a RIO CD-MP3 player...MUCH MUCH BETTER!!!!!

Me and this MP3 player never seemed to hit it off. It skips everywhere--even in the car--so the music I'm listening to gets interupted left and right. The battery life is horrific, the sound quality is ok, but man, what's the point if you can't walk around with your portable player if it skips? I wouldn't recommend this if you like to actually move around.

I got the D-Link DMP-CD100 CD juss a couple of days ago, and it turned out kind of below average. The great thing about the CD-Player is that it can play CD's consisting of over 100 MP3's and the price is acceptable. On the negative side, the CD-Player skips a lot, and there is no ESP (electronic skip protection) when playing MP3's. Also, when playing regular CD's, the player skips often even with ESP on. My opinion, if you really are broke, and need a MP3-CD player, this one is for you. But if you really want one with good quality, then don't get this at all...

My son bought this device in December. The Lyra itself is okay... lightweight, decent sound... but the MusicMatch software is an abomination. The latest MusicMatch incarnation does NOT support the Lyra for downloaded music. The company claims to have a plug-in to allow users to play downloaded music on the Lyra, but the plug-in does not install. Without the plug-in, you can still copy the files you ripped from CD, but no new music. I would like to buy myself a portable music device, but it won't be this one and it won't be any other that uses MusicMatch.

If my experience with Musicmatch is used, I will never buy another RCA mp3 player. I received it for Christmas 2002, and have used it a LOT. If you leave the batteries in, they seem to drain for some reason. The music quality is very good, and it's not too hard to use. I wasn't aware that you could play WMA files. I like sticking with good old mp3s.
Like other people, I have been very unhappy with Musicmatch. The old software works fine. You can add or remove music and see what is in the player. Now you can add music, but you can only remove music or see what is loaded by clicking on the drive icon in windows. It's VERY irritating, and Musicmatch does not seem interested in resolving the problem. With Real and Itunes supporting various players, I will try another brand in the future. Right now my eye is on the Dell jukebox.

The RCA Lyra RD1070 is the first MP3 player I've owned, and I'm very pleased with it. For a 128 MB player, the price is hard to beat. Of course, you give up some frills like a track name display, but it's still a very competitive piece of hardware. It's lightweight, relatively compact, and sounds good. There are five DSP presets available (flat, bass, pop, rock, and jazz), repeat, shuffle, and program play modes, and a very generous volume range. There is also an expansion slot for SD/MMC memory cards, if you want more play time.

My only complaint with the unit is the Musicmatch software that comes with it. It stinks. Although you can copy WMA files directly to the player through Windows Media Player or Windows Explorer, MP3 files must be converted to a proprietary "MPY" format before the Lyra will play them. This means you're required to use the lame bundled software to upload MP3s. I've e-mailed RCA begging them to release a WMP plug-in or a converter program, but I'm not holding my breath for a response. Despite the somewhat lame software, I am very impressed with the player and would definitely recommend it.

I had some trouble installing the software under Win XP, it wasn't recognized at first. After an uninstall and reinstall it worked fine. I think part of the problem many people are having with this player is that the manual for it is horribly written, and very sparse. Screen shots of an install telling you to click NEXT and OK are not an instruction manual! The manual gets 1 star tops.

On the flipside, I don't think many of the people having problems with the memory card actually bothered reading the manual at all. No problems hear adding memory cards. The thing is, you have to format them with the provided software. If you don't do that, then they won't work. Plain and simple.

It's a reasonable player, but does not put out the best sound quality. That's acceptable to me, because contrary to popular opinions, MP3 is one of the worst audio formats around for digital music, at any bitrate. Seeking to increase space/time on my player I experimented by adding the same song encoded at different bitrates between 96k and 320k. I couldn't tell much of a difference between any of them. That's good news, as you can lower the bitrate to save space and add more music. Again, if you're an audiophile like myself, you already know that whatever bitrate you use is going to be poor compared to what you are used to, so at least you can take advantage of that fact.

The interface and controls are very simple. Like many others I bought this just for working out. It serves that purpose very well and at an affordable price. The small display shows you volume level, track #, and time played among other things like built in EQ settings and playback mode. No, it doesn't show you the title of the MP3 playing, but think about it... You encoded the MP3, you put it on there because you wanted to listen to it... I'm assuming you can tell what song it is when you hear it. I don't see any need for a more complex display on this player.

On price alone I'd have been willing to give this player 5 stars, but I can't because there are definitely some downsides. The first being the manual as I stated above. The second thing are the headphones, their incessant hissing and their inability to reproduce a wide frequency of sound. Throw them in the trash immediately and put on a pair cost at least $30 and you'll hear a night/day difference (this can be said for just about any free pair of headphones you get with a device, though.) The third thing is the Random playback mode isn't random at all. It plays back the tracks in the exact 'random' order time after time. I've experimented with this, taking the battery out, loading new music on it, etc.. and it continually will just play the same track #'s out of sequence.

Lastly, the buttons are fairly cheap and the Play/Pause Off/On button is schizophrenic at best. It's either hypersensitive or it's completely stiff and non-responsive. Of course it happens at whatever situation would be worst. It turns itself on in a bag very easily, and when you go to turn it off it chooses to be obstinate.

In short, if you're looking for a player without much investment, and something you don't want to worry about breaking or having to replace, this is the perfect player. Ample memory and low price make it a winner for workouts and casual listening.

This is a very simple yet solid little MP3 player. The software installation worked fine on the first try on a Win XP system. I was listening to music within 5 minutes. It's very light and fits easily in my pocket. The included ear-buds are good quality - better than I expected. It has the standard random and repeat features that a CD player might have. My only complaints are minor: It's easy to accidentally turn the unit on while it's in your pocket which wastes batteries. And it would be nice to have more control over the equalizer (it has a few pre-sets included). Overall I'm happy with it.

I just bought this (...). It was easy to install the firmware using the supplied CD. It sounds great. My only complaint is that I want to add more memory but the instructions do not show the orientation of the card to insert.